The only video game with “NBA” in the title twice!
PlayStation 1
Released in 1999 by Midway
Grade: C+
NBA Jam-style action in 3D sounds like a can’t-miss formula, but this game screws it up.
Where it falls in the series
This came out on Dreamcast, N64, and PS1 a year after the arcade version. It follows NBA Jam, NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, and NBA Hang Time, and then was followed by the 3-on-3 game NBA Hoopz.
Praises and gripes
In this rendition of supercharged 2-on-2 basketball, the court has more space than we’re used to, and players can zip around even faster than before. Luckily, the control is very crisp and responsive, but it’s still hard to keep up on defense. Steals are more rare, but blocked shots are surprisingly common.
It’s easy to play, but feels out of balance. The action is back and forth. You trade possessions, without much of that classic NBA Jam chaos in between.
It doesn’t always make sense which shots go in and which ones don’t, and the optimal release point on shots isn’t right. Some baskets are awarded 3 points even if the player was clearly inside the 3-point arc. Blocks and steals are also out of whack, occurring when it looks like they shouldn’t.
And even though it’s not easy to shove other players, there’s a limit to how many shoves you can get away with … or else your opponent … shoots … free throws? Wait, what?
Yeah, there are free throws in this game. Midway blasphemy! I don’t know WHAT they were thinking.
On top of that, this game originally ran on a standing arcade cabinet, and this PS1 port looks second-rate. The graphics are so sketchy that some shots look like they’re bound to miss, then magically splash through the net. The dunks don’t have the style and grace you’d expect. The roars of the crowd sound like low-fi wheezing squeals.
Perhaps on Dreamcast’s superior technology, this game looks and sounds much nicer. On PS1, though, that NBA Jam charm is sorely missing.